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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ground — the earth
  3. content — the amount
  4. tear — to rip
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ground — crushed
  8. swing — music
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. ground — a position
  12. swing — to play on
  13. tear — from crying
  14. swing — in golf
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. squash — the sport
  19. content — happy
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. squash — to crush
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. squash — the vegetable

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com